I'll Linger After You Go
by HungryCookieMonster
Summary: "If God recorded every breath of every human and creature, He would be writing down the last few breaths of Emma Robertson." It seems everyone has their secrets in this world, but only a few are visible to the naked eye. Emma is able to see it all. All of our sins and lies exposed to her...and she can communicate with Them. And as far as she knows, she's the only one who can do so
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello! I know this first 'chapter' is pretty short...but bare with me! And I must apologize for not writing anything for my other stories on this site. I've been extremely busy with school *internally screams***

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoy this story as we move along...if you stay till the end that is :)**

 **Warning: Flames will absolutely not be tolerated...unless they are given to me to make my cookies and other delicious desserts!**

* * *

If God recorded every breath of every human and creature, he would be writing down the last few breaths of Emma Robertson. My sister was twelve when that truck rammed into our car. I was able to escape with a few broken bones and some glass lodged in my already broken body. Mom and dad…well, they didn't make it. It was a miracle Emma survived; considering the truck hit on her side of our small Ford.

She's been in a coma for five days sense it happened. They had to hook her up to one of those machines to help her breathe. As I sat next to her in my wheelchair, I toyed with the plug connecting her to that monstrous machine. I watched as her chest rose and fell as it forced more oxygen into her body.

I had a decision to make. As her older brother, did I really want her to suffer any longer? Granted she was alive and the doctors said there was the possibility that she would wake up…but was that a good enough reason to force this on her? We don't have parents anymore and she'll be forced to live with my girlfriend and I in a one bedroom apartment. That wasn't a life I wanted for her.

The plug would be easy to pull. Just one little tug and she'd be free to go with mom and dad. She'd be happier…wouldn't she?

She and I were close; closer than most siblings with such a large age gap. We were almost ten years apart. When the crash happened, my parents were picking me up at the airport. I was visiting home for Christmas after being away for so long. Emma was so happy to see me she nearly tackled me when she saw me.

But the arms that had held me in a hug were now cold and limp by her sides. Seeing this made me believe there was no hope of her ever waking up.

A tear slid down my cheek as I watched the heart monitor.

 _Beep…_

 _Beep…_

 _Beep…_

I tugged on the plug and kept watch over how the beeping got slightly faster with every pull. My breath hitched with every tug I made on her life. If I did do it, would she hate me? There's no way she would, right? She'd be happier with mom and dad than with me. I know I would want her to pull the plug if it were me in a coma and her sitting beside me.

But the thought of never hearing her sweet voice that reminded me of mom and never seeing her smile made me physically ill. I loved her with all my heart; how could I do such a thing to her? She's my sister for God sake! Taking her off life support would be murder!

I looked at her pale face, seeing how peaceful she seemed to be in her rest. It was almost like she was just asleep; dreaming of snow and Christmas cookies. But in all reality, she wasn't really asleep or dreaming. She was just in complete darkness. And believe me, I wanted to think that wasn't true. I truly wanted to believe that she was okay; that she was going to wake up.

I tugged on the plug once again, nearly pulling it out of the machine. I didn't make a move to plug it back in. I didn't look away from Emma's face.

With only one tug, her life would be over. Her soul would be free…

 _Beep…Beep…_

 _Beep…_

… _Beep…_

* * *

 **Well...yeah...*nervously laughs***

 **I hope you liked this...maybe...at least a little bit? Please tell me! I must know!**

 **Until I write again,**

 **-HungryCookieMonster**


	2. Elizabeth

**Warning: Dark themes are in this chapter. You have been warned.**

* * *

Emma Robertson was never one to forget. She believed that everything should be remembered; all the bad and all the good. It helped her stay grounded. It helped her be who she was; the daughter of a soldier and the sister of a thief. That thief, her own flesh and blood, had taken something that she actually wanted him to take for once; her pain.

You see, when Emma was in the hospital after that horrible crash, she was in terrible amounts of pain. It wasn't just from her broken bones or her pounding head; her heart was failing. She never had a very strong one in her short life. But, despite having the thing keeping her alive covered in metal and a hole as big as a nickel, Emma had made the most of it.

She wanted to thank Will for what he did, but she couldn't. She simply didn't know how. It was almost as if something was holding her back. Not a person, but it was almost like glass. Every time she would try to reach for Will, she could feel the invisible barrier keeping her away.

"Will," she whispered, watching as her brother broke into yet another house, "what happened to you?"

Will wasn't always this way. He was very trustworthy person once. As a matter of fact, he didn't have a bad bone in his body. But, sadly, he started hanging around the wrong group of people in high school. Everything they did was sinful; drugs, sex, and crime. Will has never killed anyone. At least, not from what Emma has seen. Anything could happen between the time she was around Will and the time she wasn't.

"I wonder what your mom and dad think of him," a raspy voice whispered from beside her. Standing there in the shadows was her companion; dressed in all black and eyeing her with its blood red eyes. "I imagine they are feeling nothing but pride."

Emma frowned and looked back at the house in front of her. Inside, Will was probably looking for the resident's most valuable items; things he could sell. There was a small amount of movement, and from the corner of her eye she could see it moving closer to her.

"They loved him," Emma said with a sigh, "Even though he never seemed to make the right choices."

It laughed at this. "I'm sure they did, Emma. But did he love them?"

"I don't know."

"Exactly," it hissed. "How could he? He did take their lives, after all."

"Shut up."

"You have to face the truth sooner or later."

She knew it was right. Denying everything that happened wasn't helping her in the least. It was just too painful to think about sometimes.

"I guess you're right," Emma whispered, glancing at it only briefly before turning back to the house. Will was now climbing out of the window he had smashed to get into the house, carrying a large duffle bag over his shoulder. It smirked at the sight of him, shaking its head. Emma didn't know why it cared about what Will did in his life. But it did. Maybe it was a demon waiting to snatch him up and take him to whatever dark hole it crawled out of. Emma shivered at the thought. "You're almost always right."

"Almost always," it asked with a sharp toothed grin. "I'm offended."

Emma rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. Even though it was probably a demon out to get her brothers soul, it was nice to have some company. And it followed her almost everywhere she went; as long as Will was there, of course. But it always talked to her. Probably because she was the only 'person' it could talk to.

"Are you ever lonely?" It was taken aback by her question. Its red eyes flickered like flames and eyed her curiously. Emma almost smiled at this. It wasn't often she was able to catch it off guard.

"Of course not," it snarled, moving away from her and after her brother, who was making his way down the street. "Why would I when I have such a hateful soul to feed off of?"

And with that, it was engulfed by the darkness of the night. Emma stood alone mere ten feet away from the house her brother had broken into. She looked down at the ground, sighing heavily and fighting back the urge to follow Will and his shadow like companion. Instead, she made her way to the house. She was curious to see what was inside the large one- story residence.

Peering through the broken window, her eyes scanned the room in front of her. It looked to be a child's bedroom. The walls were decorated with glow in the dark stars that were the only sources of light in the room. Her brother must have turned off all of the lights before he left.

 _Smart…but the family living here is definitely going to notice the broken window and glass._

She climbed through the window and stood alone in the small room. The glass beneath her feet broke into even tinier pieces, some of them sinking further into the plush pink carpet that covered the room. Looking around the room curiously, she noticed a full length mirror standing beside what must have been the closet. She made her way toward it, already seeing her reflection as she grew closure.

The girl that stood before her looked like her, moved like her, but it couldn't have been her. The young child in the mirror looked so hollow, its light blue eyes dull and showing no signs of life in there depths. There were a multitude of scratches and bruises littering the visible parts of her body; her arms and face. Her skin was so pale. Her hair, once a bright, vibrant brown, now hung loosely around her face.

"No," someone whispered from behind her. The young girl tensed, thinking that the family returned from their nightly activities. But, looking into the mirror, she didn't see anyone but herself. She didn't make a move to turn around. "P-please…just leave me alone!"

"Just shut up and do as I say," a man growled. Emma felt her stomach churn in fear of what was going on in the room. There was no other reflection in the full length mirror other than her own. Hesitantly, she turned around slowly to see what was in the room with her. There, on the twin sized bed, was a little shadow of a girl. It looked to be no older than Emma. It was curled up with its knees to its chest, shivering.

"Someone h-help me," the little shadow whimpered, "P-please."

Emma stood frozen as the shadows golden eyes bore into her. "I-I—"

"Shut up, bitch," a larger shadow snarled, backhanding the little girl. The smaller shadow cried out in pain, clutching its cheek. "I paid good money for you, and you are going to behave like the good little slut you are."

Emma began to shake, tears rolling down her cheeks. What was going on? Why was this happening? Why couldn't she _do_ anything?!

The man forced the girl to lie down on the bed, spreading her legs as she cried and thrashed, trying to get away from this monster. Emma cried with the girl, her own despair pouring out of her soul as the man violated the poor shadow of a child.

"Stop," Emma pleaded. "Get off of her!"

The larger shadow didn't hear any of her pleas, forcing his way into the small child. Emma screamed, begged, and even tried to grab him and pull him off of the smaller shadow like being. But she was blocked out just like she was with her brother. All of her attempts to save the child were futile. Whatever this was…it was beyond her control.

So she decided to run.

She ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her so she wouldn't have to see that horrific scene any longer. When the door shut, everything grew silent once again. Emma kept both of her hands on the silver doorknob, confused now beyond anything else. Curiosity got the better of her, and she slowly opened the door to peer inside. There was no one there. No man, no child…nothing.

And then it started all over again.

"No…P-please…just leave me alone!"

"Just shut up and do as I say!"

The door was slammed shut once more, the young girl behind it falling backwards and scampering away from the room. She ran into another room, tears still falling from her eyes.

Even though she may have escaped the hell in the room prior to the one she now stood in, this house was not yet done with her. It still had so much to show.

Emma shook her head in dismay as the same little shadow appeared in the room she ran into. This time the shadow sat alone, brushing the hair of what looked to be a porcelain doll. The golden hair was detangled with the small wooden brush the little shadow was using so delicately. Emma moved a little closer, the wooden floors that covered this room creaking underneath her feet. The little shadow didn't seem to notice, for it continued to pamper her doll with utmost care.

"Elizabeth!"

The little shadow gasped and quickly hid her doll in the chest she had been sitting on. She stood at attention, staring at the door with her golden eyes and waiting for whomever called her name. In walked a woman, tall and skeletal, with a dress in hand. The little shadow, Elizabeth, stood perfectly still as the skeleton of a woman began to unbutton the front of her shirt.

"You must look presentable for Mr. Smith," the woman said as she changed the little shadow. "This is the dress that he wants you to wear for his visit."

"Yes, mother."

Emma began to feel sick. Was that 'Mr. Smith' who was violating this poor girl in the bedroom?

The little shadow and her mother disappeared into the darkness…only to come back and replay the whole scene over again. It was almost like a movie; a very horrible, gut wrenching movie that Emma didn't want to stay and watch.

The young girl made her way to the kitchen. It was a very nice kitchen with marble counter tops and the latest appliances. Her brother seemed to have ransacked the cupboards, taking as much food as he could.

 _Maybe that's all he took_.

Emma shook her head and continued on. The living room, a large room with a nice red couch and flat screen TV, was filled with nothing but the shadows that seemed to plague this house. All of them were dark blurs, moving about the room in quick movements…all except one. The little shadow sat on the red couch, legs crossed and hands clasped in her lap. She was wearing the dress the skeletal woman had presented to her earlier. It was quite a nice dress; pink silk with a white sash going across the little shadow's middle.

Beside the little shadow sat a man. He moved a large hand down the little shadow's cheek, making her whimper in discomfort. Emma wanted to strangle him; wanted to make him suffer for what he was doing to this poor child. But, again, she couldn't do a thing to stop him. The glass was too thick to break.

"You look beautiful," the man whispered huskily to the little shadow. "Don't you like the dress I picked out for you?"

"Y-yes, sir," the little shadow replied shakily. Emma could feel her disgust, her pain, her _anger_. It was almost too much to handle.

"Hmm," the man hummed, leaning down and kissing the little shadow's neck. Emma growled, her hands balling into fists. Why was she so helpless?

"I know you want to help," a soft voice whispered from beside her. Emma looked down in dismay as a hand grabbed a hold of hers. "But you can't…no one can."

"That's not true."

"Then why hasn't anyone helped me," the little shadow asked, squeezing Emma's hand as they watched the scene unfold all over again, "Because no one cares if I have bruises or bite marks. It's not their problem, not their life. So they choose to ignore it; to ignore me."

"Like you're nothing," Emma whispered. The little shadow nodded and moved so she was in front of the young girl. They were almost the exact same height, but the little shadow was a few inches taller than her. The little shadow blocked Emma's view of the never ending scene, cupping her cheek with her hand.

"But you care," she said softly, "Don't you?"

Emma nodded, tears welling up in her light blue eyes as she stared into the golden flames of the little shadow. "I-I do."

The little shadow drew her closer and whispered, "For every shadow you meet, remember their story. Remember me."

* * *

Emma opened her eyes, looking at the house in front of her. She scanned the area in dismay, looking around her for the little shadow; for Elizabeth.

But she was alone.

* * *

 **'Ello! So...yeah... I need Jesus or something lol**

 **It actually took me a long time to write this chapter. I'm not used to writing such dark things so...ehhhh!**

 **I'll be dragging Jonathan into this story in the next chapter kicking and screaming :)**

 **All flames will be used to bake my next batch of chocolate chip cookies!**


	3. Sometimes It's Just Too Hard

**A/N: 'Ello! I'm sorry I haven't posted for a couple of days, but school has been an absolute pain in the butt lately. I blame it on the upcoming tests!**

 **Warning: There are some dark themes in this chapter.**

* * *

 **Two Months Later**

"Okay," Emma whispered, putting one hand out in front of her. "Just like Itzal showed me."

The young girl watched the image playing before her and cringed. A large man was standing over a young woman in the dark alley she stood in; the only way she could see them being from their glowing eyes. The young woman laid broken on the concrete floor, golden eyes staring at Emma in a plea for mercy. The young girl shivered and closed her eyes. She didn't know if she could do it. She didn't know if she was strong enough.

After her encounter with the little shadow… _Elizabeth_ …she hasn't been the same. Shadows always seemed to surround her now. They all reached out for her; beckoning her to hear their stories. But, every time she did stop, the shadows never left her alone. Even after she heard what they had to say, saw what they wanted her to see, they were _never_ done with her. And she didn't know what to do.

The only thing she knew to do was stop their stories. Keep them there so they wouldn't bother her any longer. It hurt her to do such things, but she couldn't have their misery following her around.

"Just take a deep breath," Emma said shakily. "Count to five…"

 _1…_

She took a deep breath, held it, and focused all her energy into her hand.

 _2…_

The scene replayed in front of her. The young woman walked past her, not acknowledging the young girls presence. The man waited in the shadows for his pray to get closer before lunging and attacking. He pulled out a knife, pinning the young woman to the wall beside her. She had screamed until he placed the knife at her throat.

"You scream and I'll spill your blood onto this floor." The young woman whimpered, golden eyes flicking back to the alley opening in hopes that someone would happen to walk past and see them. But nobody came.

"L-let me go," she had begged. "I'll…I'll give you whatever you want. J-just don't do anything rash."

The man chuckled darkly, pulling the knife away from the young woman's throat before throwing her onto the ground.

 _3…_

Emma swallowed the lump in her throat, her hand shaking slightly as she continued to watch. The evil in the man's eyes as he watched the woman struggle and cry was sickening. It made the young girl whimper as the woman's fear and despair washed over her. It didn't matter how many times she's experienced this with other victims. It was still too hard to handle.

 _4…_

"N-no," the woman screamed, kicking and thrashing underneath the man pinning her to the concrete, "Let me go!"

The man growled, backhanding the woman, making her cry out in pain. "Shut up!"

Emma's hand almost dropped from its position as the man tore off the woman's pants. The young girl whimpered as the pain coursed through her. It hurt so bad. How could someone do this to another human being?

 _Elizabeth…_

Her hand dropped to her side, her whole body shaking as she cried. The pain was becoming too much. It was all becoming too much for the young girl to handle. The woman's screams as the man forced his way inside her, the man's grunts and growls...she wanted it to stop. She wanted all the pain and suffering to just end. But she was just a little kid. A little kid who was killed by her own brother; the one person besides her parents she had loved.

"Emma," a raspy voice whispered from behind her. Clawed hands gently grabbed her shoulders and turned her away from the awful sight. Even though she couldn't see it, she could still hear everything that was going on. "It's alright, Emma. I'm here now."

Itzal knelt down in front of her, pulling her into a tight hug. He could feel her shaking as she cried into his shoulder, her tears soaking his dark suit. The young Sin regretted leaving her alone for so long. He wanted to be back sooner than this. But her brother didn't exactly rest when it came to his activities.

"Itzal," Emma whimpered, wrapping her arms around his middle. "I-I tried to stop it. I tried."

The young Sin sighed and rubbed her back tenderly. "I know you did, Emma, I know you did. I never should have expected you to be able to do this alone."

His red eyes scanned the scene playing out behind the young girl, anger growing inside him as he watched. The man was inside the woman, moving viciously in and out of her. As the woman screamed in agony, Emma clung to him tighter, seeking comfort from the pain. He growled, taking one of his hands off of the young girl and pointing it toward the two dark figures. Everything stopped; all the pain, all the sounds…everything. Emma pulled away from him in confusion, turning to look behind her. The two shadows were still there…just frozen in place.

"I'm sorry," Emma whispered, looking down at the ground in shame. "I'm never going to be strong enough."

Itzal cupped her cheek and smiled gently at her. "You'll learn, Emma. It just takes time."

He stood up, motioning for Emma to stand in front of her. She followed his instruction, already knowing what he wanted to do. Itzal waved his hand at the two frozen figures. They unfroze, continuing what they were doing before he had stopped them. Emma cringed. She hated this, but knew it was necessary. How else was she going to learn?

"Now," Itzal said, grabbing one of her arms and lifting it so it was aiming at the two shadows, "Focus everything on the two of them."

"R-right," Emma stuttered. She looked at the two figures, specifically the woman, and focused all the emotion and energy she was getting from the scene onto her arm. The middle of her palm began to burn, making her falter a little.

"Steady," Itzal instructed, "Don't let the emotion control you. You're in charge of the situation. Not them."

Emma nodded her head, pushing all of the pain and emotion out of her mind and heart and into her hand. The burning spread from her palm to her arm, traveling up and into the rest of her body. She welcomed the burn like an old friend. It was a nice, calming feeling. The burn became more intense where her heart would have been beating. She could almost feel her heart start up again from how intense the feeling was.

The image in front of her stopped. The two shadows wavered in and out of existence and non-existence, fading into the darkness of the alley. Itzal smiled and squeezed her shoulder. Emma couldn't help but smile, too. She's never been able to do this much before.

"Good," her companion cheered, "I'll handle the rest."

He lifted his own hand, closing it into a tight fist. The two figures disappeared completely, leaving the two of them alone in the dark alleyway.

"You did a good job, Emma."

"Thank you," Emma said happily. "I guess you were right about it taking time."

"When am I ever wrong?"

"Hmm," Emma lifted a hand to her chin in thought, "You're wrong half the time."

"Wow."

"I'm just joking!"

* * *

Elizabeth clung to her doll, shivering under the stares of the armed men invading her house. Her mother and father were kneeling on the ground while their daughter sat on the couch. Most of the men were focused on them, but some stared at the young girl as she cried softly into the golden locks of her doll.

"Now, now," a man purred from behind her. He ran a hand through her long hair, tugging it so she was forced to look back at him. "There's no need to cry, little one."

She stared into the holes of the burlap mask, seeing his eyes darken with pleasure as she whimpered in pain. He let her go with a hard shove, making his way from behind the couch and in front of the trembling child.

"Kyle," the man called, a young man stepping forward. "Take this child out to the van. She belongs to you now."

The young man, Kyle, smiled sinisterly and grabbed Elizabeth roughly from her spot on the couch. She struggled to get out of his grasp as he dragged her outside and toward a white van waiting outside. Her mother was soon dragged out as well by another man. Her father…well…the screams coming from inside told enough.

* * *

 **Yeah...I know...this chapter was a bit rushed. But you have no idea how long it actually took me to write this piece of garbage. I've erased, wrote, and erased again for about an hour before I was finally able to write something! And then it took me even longer to actually write this! *screams internally***

 **Anyway...the next chapter will most likely be centered on Emma paying the Scarecrow a visit...so...yay?**

 ***sighs and looks at a blank piece of paper* Yay...-_-**

 **Lol :)**

 **All flames will be used to make some cake~**


	4. Amongst Demons and Sins

**Writers block can be a pain in the a**. I can't believe I finally wrote though! It may be garbage...hopefully not...but I actually wrote something!**

* * *

"Where do you think they took her?" Emma sat with her legs crossed in the front lawn of the house across from Elizabeth's. She was pulling blades of grass out of the ground, ripping them apart and letting them fall back to the earth below. Itzal, currently sitting next to the young girl with a small frown and hunched shoulders, sighed through his nose as they watched the scene play out for the fifth time that night.

"I don't know," he replied. "All I know is that scarecrow guy is a fucking prick."

Emma raised an eyebrow and glanced over at the dark figure beside her. "You know him?"

"Yes, sadly," Itzal sighed, resting his head on one of his clawed hands and focusing on the man in question. "I've run into him once or twice before. It's his alter-ego that makes me want to rip his throat out."

"The Scarecrow," Emma asked curiously, looking back at the scene before them, spotting the masked man as he exited the house. She squinted her eyes. Behind the man was a tall, lean figure that closely resembled what you would expect to find in a corn field. His eyes, shining a bright, almost neon orange, seemed to be looking at her as it moved closely behind the human male. She shivered.

"Fucking asshole," Itzal growled. The Scarecrow locked eyes with Itzal's, red meeting orange, and flashed him a sharp, toothy grin. "I'll drag him to Hell myself someday."

As the dark figures entered the van parked outside the house, the dark, lean figure stopped, clawed hands balling into fists. Itzal stood; shooting his hand out and pausing the scene, making Emma look up at him in confusion. Scarecrows grin widened, sharp teeth gleaming in the light of the street lamp not too far from where he stood, and made his way toward Emma and Itzal.

"Get behind me," Itzal whispered through clenched teeth. Emma did as she was told, quickly making her way behind the demon. "Don't say a word."

" **Itzal** ," Scarecrow said in a dark, raspy voice. " **It's been awhile sense I've seen you.** "

"Can't say I missed you, asshole."

" **So rude** ," he chuckled, crossing his arms and tilting his head, eyeing Itzal curiously. " **Where'd that little girl run off to?** "

Emma felt Itzal tense where her tiny hands rested on his back. "I don't know. I'm not her babysitter."

Scarecrow gave the shorter demon a toothy grin. " **I beg to differ. You know, I never would've guessed you had a soft spot for a little brat like that bitch in that house over there.** "

Emma squeezed her eyes shut, holding back the whimper that wanted to escape her throat. Itzal dropped his hand, letting the scene resume and rewind. The young girl could hear all that was being said inside and outside the little shadows home. Her stomach gave a painful twist and her eyes began to water.

"P-please," Emma whimpered, "m-make it s-stop."

" **There she is** ," Scarecrow said with that dark grin that never seemed to go away.

"Shit," Itzal growled under his breath, raising his hand once again and pausing the dark scene ahead. Emma poked her head out from behind her companion, looking up at the much taller demon with wide, fearful eyes. Now that he was closer, she could see that his face was merely a sack, much like what the man had been wearing, but his Cheshire grin was visible from a hole in the mask where the mouth would be located. There was a tall, pointed hat sitting upon his head; slumped and raggedy. Unlike the man he followed so closely, he wore a torn, plaid shirt and dirty, brown pants.

" **What's your name?** "

"E-Emma," the young girl stammered. Itzal placed a hand on top of her head, eyes never leaving Scarecrow.

" **Your fear smells so sweet** ," Scarecrow hummed, taking a deep breath in and kneeling so he was almost level with the girl. " **Shame Jonathan isn't able to see you right now.** "

"W-who…"

"Where is your puppet, Scarecrow? I thought you two stayed together," Itzal cocked an eyebrow at the other demon with a small smile. Scarecrow closed his eyes for a second, sighing heavily, before standing back up.

" **Sleeping, no doubt** ," he replied with a slight chuckle. " **I decided to let him rest sense I wanted to talk to you so badly, Itzal.** "

"Go fuck yourself," Itzal said, grinding his teeth and eyeing Scarecrow dangerously. Emma looked at her companion with a look of disapproval.

" **You should really teach your pet how to be nicer, little girl.** "

" _Pet?!"_

"Itzal's not my pet," Emma objected. "He's my friend."

Her companion glanced down at her with a smile. He stroked her hair fondly, gently massaging her scalp with his clawed fingertips.

" **Friend** ," Scarecrow scoffed. " **This fucker doesn't care about anyone but himself. He's just using you.** "

"What would he use me for? I'm not close to anyone of value."

" **I keep forgetting all children are retarded** ," Scarecrow sighed irritably, rubbing the sides of his head. " **He's using you for your energy, you little shit. That's all he wants.** "

"No," Itzal chimed in, grabbing the other demons attention once again. "That's what her brother's for."

"Itzal feeds off of the negative energy my brother releases. He's been with my brother sense…."

Emma stopped, looking down at the ground.

" **Sense what?** "

"Sense he started doing drugs," Itzal lied. "Once he started, I started to take form."

" **Interesting** ," Scarecrow remarked, orange eyes scanning the young girl still standing behind the younger demon. He turned to look behind him and at the unmoving scene. " **Is this a new trick you've learned?** "

"Yes," the younger demon replied. "I had to because…because of her."

" **What does this little girl have to do with what's going on there?** "

"I'm," Emma paused, "I'm able to see people's sins. What they've done and what has passed."

Scarecrow nodded slowly, seeming to consider what she said. " **That's…I've never encountered something like this before.** "

Emma looked back at the scene as well. She caught sight of Elizabeth and frowned. "Do you know what happened to her?"

" **Who** ," Scarecrow asked, following her gaze and smiling. " **Oh, that whore?** "

"Scarecrow," Itzal growled warningly. Scarecrow chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest.

" **Jonathan gave her to one of his men as a gift.** "

"Do you…do you know where he lives?"

" **Yes.** "

"Take us there," Itzal said. "Take us there and help us get that little girl."

Scarecrow threw his head back and laughed. The sound was horrible, dark and gut wrenching, and made Emma shrink further behind her companion. Itzal put his hand on her shoulder and ground his teeth. He was seconds away from attacking the older demon. The only thing stopping him was the young girl holding onto him so tightly.

" **Why in the hell would I do that?** "

"Because I'll pay you."

The older demon smiled cruelly. " **There's nothing you could give me, Itzal. But, I could convince Jonathan to get her for himself.** "

Emma felt her stomach lurch. "He's not a…"

" **A pedophile? No, he's not. He could use her for his experiments, though.** "

"I thought you said you wouldn't help us."

" **Oh, Itzal** ," Scarecrow chuckled, " **I merely asked why I would take you to get her when my solution is so much easier. And** _ **fun**_ **.** "

"Thank you," Emma said sweetly, running up to the taller demon and giving him a hug. Scarecrow looked down at her in disgust and surprise, prying her off of him after a minute.

"Well," Itzal sighed, placing his hand on his hips and gave Scarecrow a small smile, "when should we do this?"

" **I'll talk to Jonathan tomorrow morning. If he agrees, I'll find you two…wherever you low lives hide out.** "

"And if he disagrees?"

" **Then you'll have to get her yourself, Itzal.** "

And with that, Scarecrow was gone.

* * *

 **Scarecrow everyone! It took me awhile to figure out how I was going to fit him in here.**

 **I hope this chapter was okay, though...**

 **Until the next chapter!**

 **-HungryCookieMonster**


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